WTTC president and chief executive Gloria Guevara said only a minority of the world’s population were set to receive the vaccine and that others should not be disadvantaged.

“The common sense approach is to allow the free movement of people who can prove a negative test result, rather than reserve travelling or jobs for a small minority who have been vaccinated,” she said.

Guevara added it would take “a significant amount of time” to vaccinate the global population, especially in less advanced countries or those in different age groups. “Therefore we should not discriminate.”

She added: “The most vulnerable groups should be prioritised; a blanket vaccination requirement would simply discriminate against non-vulnerable groups, such as Generation X, Z and Millennials, who should be able to travel with proof of a negative Covid test.” 

The WTTC has repeatedly called for cost-effective testing at airports to “avoid exporting the virus”.

Tui Group chief executive Fritz Joussen said in December the operator would “absolutely not” turn away clients who had not been vaccinated.

Joussen said testing was the important issue, as it was otherwise unclear “if a vaccinated person is infectious or not”.